Off the Danco Coast, 1/19/16

We opened the drapes this morning to find we were slowly and closely passing a colony of breeding Gentoo penguins. The rookery covered a point of dirt and rocks. The birds seem to be in constant motion and when we opened the door to the balcony, fortunately upwind, we could hear them. It was a soft sound like a cross between clucking and purring.

From the height of the ship's decks (the air is so clear that it's difficult to judge distances; what seems close might actually be a mile or better away) the animals, whether penguins, seals or even whales, look small. The penguins look like tiny dots on the ice as we pass. To confirm that I'm actually looking at penguins I've learned to zoom in on anything tiny on ice or shore with my little but mighty Canon Super Shot and run off a few frames. I'm continually amazed at the excellent pictures I'm getting. Probably nothing to compare with those taken by the people with the fancy cameras and big long lenses, but hit the button enough times and the odds are I'll get some good photos!

Today were cruising between the South Shetland Islands and the coast of Antarctica. As we've learned from the wonderful talks given by the experts on board, the continent is mountainous and all but covered with ice and a lot of snow. The whole coastline is brown/black mountains, 4,000' high running down to the sea. There are a lot of coves and bays and channels. Any bit of flat, rocky "beach" is either the site of a research facility, penguin rookery or both.

The landscape is so forbidding we were all amazed at the wildlife that seems to be everywhere. We slowly, slowly, slowly went by enormous sheets of sea ice where seals were lolling about. The naturalist said it was highly unusual to see multiple seals on the same ice. The sea ice is flat and forms every winter, then disappears in the summer. These sheets were the size of a football field and riddled with cracks. Everyone was taking pictures like mad.

Then we came upon dozens of penguins dolphining and feeding while their chicks waited in the rookeries for food. And whales! Humpbacks and orcas were all about spouting, surfacing and showing their flukes. Quite the floorshow.

Around a bend we came abreast of a Chilean scientific station on a spit of land they shared with a huge penguin rookery. It was built at the site of one of the first camps where two scientists spent the winter camped under the hull of an ice boat on shore. Now it's a series of buildings with a small pier leading to a small dock. And in the cove? A sailboat! A sloop maybe 40-50 long. It was just pulling anchor and heading who knows where. This is not the first private yacht we've seen down here. So unexpected! It took us two days at 19 knots to get here from the Falklands. Who knows how long it took them. Plus it is cold outside!!!! A constant 0 degrees centigrade.

We were headed to a certain passage, hoping to find it ice free. There aren't the huge fresh water icebergs we saw yesterday, but there are dozens, hundreds of smaller ones plus the ice floes. Gradually we slowed and saw a much smaller French liner heading out of the pass. Evidently that captain told ours they had made it through, but just barely, so Captain P J (he has a long, multisyllabic Dutch name so just goes by his initials) made the sensible decision to make a U-turn and go to more hospitable waters.

I layered up before deck time: Cuddleduds neck to ankle, jeans and then long-sleeved UnderArmour, polar fleece, heavy knitted cowl, Carhardt super wool socks, Merrel hiking boots, finished with heavy, lined coat, hat and gloves!  It was zero degrees on the deck with an apparent wind of 10 to 14 knots so it had to be colder with the wind chill. The channels are narrow with mountain ranges soaring on both sides the tops and valleys are covered with FEET of pure, white snow. We all keep gasping in awe, trying to find new words.

When my cheeks (heavily coated with SPF sunblock) get too cold, it's time to go inside and find a comfy chair in one of the bars, lounges, library or our stateroom and just watch the scenery glide by.

It's so quiet here, just the occasional cry of a sea bird.

As is our custom, we have a pre-dinner cocktail in the Crow's Nest every night around 7:30. Tonight we were all entertained by a huge pod of Humpback whales swimming ahead of us with lots of spouting, flipping and fluke waving. You begin to wonder if they know we're watching and applauding and are putting on a show.